Julie - Crow Lake Fanfiction
by natasimp644
Summary: Crow lake fanfiction


Luke's Point of View

It was very hard to keep Bo from screaming.

Bo wanted to use the pots and pans from the cupboard to play. Her version of play is hitting them as hard as she can to ensure she got the loudest sound possible. She broke one of our best spoons.

"Bo, can you quit it out?" I yell as I try to dial Dr. Christopherson's phone number. Bo's fever was the highest its ever been. I assume that's why she's been so cranky lately.

"No!" She screamed back, hitting the pot extra hard. I was anxious on her using Mom's good set from her wedding present. I immediately regretted it when I heard the noise I wish I never heard. The sound of splitting wood from the detailed carved spoon. I slam down the phone and rub my face. This is too much.

"Stop it Bo." I pick her up and place her on the kitchen table. She cries so loud, the neighbors could probably hear the echo off in the distance over the hills. I take the pots and throw them in the cupboard, scaring Bo more. The tears stained her cheeks and were dripping onto her dirty shirt that she has been wearing for at least three days without a wash.

"What is the problem here?" Matt said, coming downstairs while putting on a clean shirt.

"Bo broke one of the good spoons."

"You gave it to her in the first place? Sometimes I feel like I'm the older one, more mature." He smirked. As much of a jerk he is, I can never fully hate his guts.

"Kate, can you get Bo cleaned up?" He asked. Kate came out from behind the chair in the livingroom. I had no idea she was even there. She always answered to Matt. She admired him. She came out looking like she saw a ghost.

"Kate? What wrong with you too?" Matt asked. I was too busy picking up the spoon. It was just a god damn spoon but it was something that meant a lot to our Mom.

"I thought I saw something outside." Kate stated. The room became silent apart from the soft sniffles of Bo trying to calm down. Sitting on the table, she started towards the supper I placed on the table 5 minutes earlier.

"Bo stop it." I said, picking her up and placing her small frame into my arms. Matt moved quickly to look out the livingroom window, trying to be discrete from the outside.

"I don't see anything Kate. Just trees and 3 feet of snow." Matt observed. It was true. This years winter has been considerably worse than last. If anyone were to be out there, they would freeze without the right shelter and clothing. Bo insists everyday that she wants to go out to play. It took us 10 minutes to get ready but we only last less than 5 minutes out there.

After supper I attempt to clean up in the kitchen, doesn't go well while Matt helps Kate with her homework. I don't even know where Bo is. I went to look for her and she wasn't in her room or the kitchen so I go look in the livingroom. At first I didn't see her there but then I see swaying between the curtains. I begin to worry as if someone or something was actually out there. Before I could think of what to do, I could hear the back door swing open.

"Luke did you hear that?" Matt said looking up. Matt is the type of person to not act scared. He did it for the girls. But I could genuine see in his eyes that he knew it wasn't just the wind. I put my finger to my lips, motioning for everyone to silence themselves. We all listened. Bo was watching from behind the old tan curtains that draped sadly. She came out and touched my leg, signifying that she wanted me to pick her up. Everyone still silent, we all listened for movement. Nothing. I let out a sigh of relief.

All of a sudden you could hear a slight thump from the back of the house. Bo let out a huge ear piercing shriek and bolted behind the curtain again. My first instinct was to grab the closest thing to me to protect us with.

The closest thing was a lamp.

Matt and I slowly peered into the kitchen. Nothing. Whatever it is was in the backroom still. I, still carrying the lamp went first. As we came closer to the door, I nodded to Matt and he quickly opened the door for me to jump through. We were both shocked to what we saw, lying on the floor.

1 hour later

It was cold, late and I was tired. Bo and Kate were in bed, despite them wanting to stay up with all the commotion happening in the last hour. Matt was in the kitchen making warm tea to warm everyone up. I was in Dad's chair trying to make myself interested in a newspaper from two months ago so I didn't have to talk to her.

Yes, her. She openly introduced herself as Julie Jackson, a runaway from Huntsville wanting to go to Toronto. How she got further north? I have the slightest idea. Matt brought in the tea and she quietly thanked him. He sat in the chair across from me, still facing her. He had the look on him that he didn't know what to do with her, either did I. Do we let her stay? Or tell her to go somewhere else? Having a girl in the house close to my age reminds me clearly of Sally. I feel like I can't talk to any female like that anymore. I know I walked away but she betrayed my family.

"How did you get here exactly?" Matt asked her.

"My car got stuck. Actually it was my parents car. Like a mile or so, it was hard to tell with the snow and such. My stuff is all there but I had to find the nearest place for shelter. Also I'm real sorry about breaking in. It was hard to see and I didn't think anyone was home. I wasn't going to seal food or anything I swear, just steal a bit of warmth." Julie rambled. She talked too much. That kind of person I can only take so much of.

Once she got into the house, she collapsed immediately, not being able to move. From the cold I'm assuming. She was crying when we found her curled up in a ball, skin wind burnt like crazy. She's lucky she didn't get frost bite.

"We understand, the weather is bad. What are your plans after tonight?" Matt asked. I just stared at her. She wasn't too pretty. Quite skinny actually with her defined cheekbones and boney shoulders. Her face wasn't symmetrical either, her nose was crooked; matched her teeth and her jaw stood out, probably from all that talking. Her brown wavy hair was matted in a mess and soaking wet from the melted snow. She wasn't close to perfect, yet I couldn't understand that something about her that I couldn't stop looking at. Her skin was sickly and pale as if she's never seen a day of sunlight and she was really tall, only a few inches shorter than Matt and I.

"You're letting me stay the night?" She looked up at Matt in shock. Did she think we'd kick her out?

"Of course you can. It's a cold one out tonight." Matt said, looking at his watch. I still have yet to say anything to her. "It's getting late. You can sleep here and we will talk about it in the morning?" He added. Sleep is what I needed.

"Sure thank you so much." She said. She was wrapped in multiple of our blankets. She would have froze to death.

The sleep last night was not a good one. The wind was shuttering against the roof and all I could think about was the family dinner the day my parents died. I think everyone but Bo can remember that day clearly. The clock said 7 am when I decided to go downstairs. I walked into the livingroom to see the blankets folded neatly on the couch where Julie slept. She left? I made my way slowly and sleepily into the kitchen to make breakfast. The aroma of freshly warm food filled my nose. Julie was in the kitchen, wearing Mom's apron whispering to Bo as my eyes adjusted to the light enough that I could see clearly. The counters were bare meaning all the dishes from the last few days were put away and cleaned.

"Good morning!" She exclaimed. Her hair and skin looked the exact same apart from the fact that it was dry.

"Morning." I mumbled. I walked around the island opposite of her to get milk from the fridge.

"I made breakfast for everyone and cleaned a little." She said. Bo was sitting in the chair for once drinking juice quietly. How come I can't get her to do that?

"I noticed. Thanks."

"I never actually caught your name, just Bo and Matt's." She said. I didn't want to small talk.

"Luke." I said. She looked down at the plate of leftover ham that she fried. I don't mean to be rude but I don't necessarily want her to feel that she can stay for however long she can.

"Why did you run away?" I asked not thinking. She quickly looked up at me, her green-hazel eyes peering into mine as she scrunches her eyebrows. She then looked at Bo.

"Bo go to the living room and shut the door." I said, pointing to the door. Julie watched Bo's face.

"No!" Bo screamed. I ran my hands through my unwashed hair in frustration. It's like she does it on purpose to drive my insane.

"Bo, can I talk to Luke alone?" Julie asked. Of course Bo nodded and left the room. Of course.

Julie and I talked for a good half hour. I warmed up to her a lot. She wasn't that bad actually. We talked about why she left. It was basically a bunch of things tied into one. She wanted to go to Toronto for a better life opportunity. She wanted change, a job, independence and most of all, to get away from her uptight parents. They didn't approve of her relationship but she continues to go against her parents wishes. It turned out he wasn't the best for her as he was cheating on her the entire time. Frustrated and sad, she fled her hometown just outside of Huntsville to escape her parents 'I told you so' but somehow ended up here with her lack of compass or direction skills.

"How did you manage to get this far? You do know how to drive right?" I laughed. It was a good conversation. She made you feel engaged when she talked. At this time Bo and Kate were eating quietly watching us at the table.

"I have no clue! I was distraught and I just picked a direction praying it was south. I figured I was going the wrong way about an hour in. I honestly didn't care though. And I tried driving a few times before. It was rough the first bit but I got the hang of things until the big snow drifts. Seriously, does no one plow?"

The morning consisted of Matt, Julie and I talking. We learned a lot about each other. I almost completely forgot about Sally. It was a good feeling for once. She asked about our parents and we told her the whole story leading up to how we live today. She looked at us in horror. She was the first person to give genuine sympathy to us since our parents died.

"Where are you planning on going?" Matt asked. He always wanted answers. I could tell he was thinking the same thing as I was because when she said she was unsure and that she didn't know what she wanted to do with herself yet, Matt popped the question I was hoping he would.

"You can stay with us if you want. A few things though, you must find a job here, Miss Vernon, our neighbor, can pay you to do housework for her and if you help around the house here as well, and watch Bo sometimes, you can stay here until you're ready to leave." Her face lite up lighter than it ever has. She looked like she was going to cry. It felt good to help out, as long as she helped us too because we are not in the right state to afford another person financially.

"There's another thing. You have to call your parents." I added. She looked at me, her happy tears turning into sad ones. But she nodded as she knew it was the right thing to do.

Julie stayed with us for a good 2 months. They were the two best months our family has had since our parents deaths. We had a good routine. Julie and Matt would leave after breakfast to go to school for Matt and Julie would go work. At lunch, Julie would come home and have lunch with me, Bo and Kate depending on if Kate had school or not. Lunches were always my favourite. Julie was a good cook and knew how to make the most out of what we had. After lunch I would go to work until supper while Julie watched the girls. They loved her. When I got home Matt and her would be starting supper. During supper we would all tell tales of what went on during the day. She brought organization to the family. After supper we would all go down to the ponds if light was still with us and Marie, Matt's friend would meet us there most nights. At nighttime, she would make us all pray. We never bothered before but it's working, our lives are turning around. After that she would offer to read to the girls while Matt and I talked about the grown up things like financials. Everything was just better with her.

I remember the day she left quite clearly. Her dad came and took her away. He said if she was going to waste her life away from home, she might as well be beneficial in Toronto. 400km away. He didn't want her daughter hanging around a poor family. But she fought back. She said he couldn't understand the experiences she's had here and what she's learned here. But she was three months shy from being 18. She was only a few months older than Matt at 17. Almost two years younger than me. She wasn't legally allowed to be here without her parents permissions.

Everyone was in tears when she left, even Matt and I but I think she was the saddest of all. We gave her hope and she gave us hope. We were good together. Her father, being kind enough, let her say goodbye to us. Bo screamed. She didn't want her to leave. No one did. Julie bent down and told her that she will come visit one day and to continue her reading. Bo couldn't actually read yet but they were trying. Kate was next. She told Kate to keep the ponds with her. It brings people together. She told Matt to not let me get into any trouble. They half laughed and hugged. Finally it was me. She didn't say anything to me. Instead she wrapped her long skinny arms around my neck and engulfed me in a hug. I kissed her. I had to. At my first meeting with her I couldn't care less about her problems. But living with her, sharing meals with her and just being with her, made me fall so hard. Sally was just a person in my life. I didn't love her. But I'm afraid that I'm in love with Julie.

The next few months go by as a mess. Money was getting tight again. Our routine was changed and messy. Matt would leave after breakfast to go to school. At lunch, It was just me, Bo and Kate. Sometimes just Bo. Lunches were often quiet and nothing was said. After lunch I would have to wait around for one of the neighbors to come to watch Bo. They were always late, making me late for work. I would try to get extra hours and work over supper. When I got home Matt would be attempting to clean up supper and I'd eat the leftovers. The house was so unorganized. After supper Matt would go to work at the neighbors farm because we needed the money so Kate and him couldn't go to the ponds. At nighttime, I would try make us all pray, Bo would be running around. It's so hard to keep her tame. Nothing was the same without her.

Now, almost 20 years later I still think about the scrawny girl that lived with us for 2 months. I don't even know where she went or how she is. Her face is starting to fade from me but I have never once forgotten what her beautiful green-hazel eyes looked like.

This is my first time going down to Toronto to see Kate in a long time. Matt, Marie and their son, Simon couldn't make the trip with me but Bo was able to come. With Bo being a chef, I don't miss Julie's cooking as much.

"Luke, Bo, it's nice to see you again." Kate said giving us small hugs.

"You have a nice place." I yawned. The drive was extremely long and I was tired.

"Luke, I have something to tell you." Kate said kind of serious.

"What is it Kate?" I asked.

"I ran into Julie.. remember her?" As she said that my heart sunk to my feet. It felt like it at least. I was lost for breath.

"Of course I remember her. How is she?" I said. I haven't heard anyone say her name in 15 years.

"She's not too far away actually. She didn't recognise me at first but I remembered. She's doing well. Her husband recently just left her so she moved here. She was asking about you Luke." Kate said.

"Who's Julie?" Bo asked. That's right. She would have been too young to remember her.

"She's the girl I love. Kate where does she live?" I said quickly, rushing her to tell me. I have never acted this way before.

Kate drove me to where she supposedly lived. I got out of Kate's old used grey car and walked up to the doorstep. She lived in an old brownstone apartment. The brown quarried stone was chipped but it still was beautiful. I lightly knocked on the door. Bo rolled her eyes and knocked louder. A man answered the door. My heart sunk some more.

"Yes?"

"Is Julie there?" I said, my voice squeaking. I am a middle aged man, I need to grow up.

"Sure, maybe you can help her out then since she has a weeks notice to get out of my building." He said storming away. He was the building owner.

"Who's there?" She came walking over. She looked the exact same but with a few more years added to her. Her eyes became much wider as she saw who we were.

"Luke." She said.

"Julie."


End file.
